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Cameroon’s Minister of Secondary Education Louis Bapes Bapes was taken into custody on Monday, March 31, 2014 on charges of embezzlement, after he had been summoned to the country's Special Criminal Court for what was supposed to be a routine investigation into corruption in his ministry.

While the public was still trying to make sense of the unprecedented arrest of a sitting minister, the arrest warrant was withdrawn barely 24 hours later and the minister released. Initially, many assumed that news of his release was an April Fools prank until TV stations began showing images of a frail-looking Bapes back home with family and friends.

Some reports claimed that President Paul Biya was taken unawares by the arrest and that he ordered his immediate release [fr] as soon as he was informed. The Camer.be news portal put forth another theory, arguing [fr] that Bapes Bapes’ arrest was meant to be a warning to other government ministers:

According to some analysts, Mr. Paul Biya wanted to send a message to his ministers. In this way, he creates general panic and unease between the judicial and executive branches. Cameroonian ministers, even those in office, are no longer untouchable.

In a press briefing held later that evening, Minister of Communication Issa Tchiroma officially explained [fr] why his colleague had been jailed and then released in the span of 24 hours:

On March 31, 2014, Mr. Louis Bapes Bapes, Minister of Secondary Education, was remanded into custody by the examining magistrate of the Special Criminal Court. This was within the framework of a procedure initiated against him for embezzling public funds. On April 1, 2014, the magistrate withdrew the remand warrant on the basis of powers granted him by Section 222 (1) of the criminal procedure code. According to this section, “The examining magistrate may at any time before the close of the preliminary inquiry and of his own motion withdraw the remand warrant.” In such matters, the magistrate obeys only his conscience and does not have to explain himself to anyone. It is worth noting, on the one hand, that article 1 of the penal code stipulates that the law applies to everybody. On the other hand, judicial proceedings against him continue normally. This is the information that I wanted to bring to your attention. Due to the fact that the matter is in the hands of the justice system, an independent power which is protective of its independence and prerogatives, I am not allowed to respond to any question that is gnawing away at the minds of journalists.

Tchiroma’s explanations failed to sway many who instead saw the saga as proof of a government in disarray:

Following the extraordinary arrest, I am embarrassed by the ease and manner in which we desecrate the ministerial office and authority of the state, and trivialize institutions, short of talking of a crime, in this country… A minister who is suspected of theft must tender his resignation or be fired prior to his arrest, out of respect for his office. To arrest a sitting minister without first signing a dismissal decree is an act of barbarism by an autocrat against state institutions, which he confuses for his kitchen, and an act of terror against government ministers.

Many could not get past the notion that Bapes Bapes was actually sent to the notorious Kondengui prison (where other high ranking government officials such as former Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni are locked up), but successfully walked out a free man the next day. @PierreChrist_ joked: